Monday, September 28, 2009

Yesterday, while looking at pictures from Becca's shower (taken with a camera that frames all the photos with Hello Kitty) Moira started saying "Hi Kitty!" Unfortunately, she also said it at 1:30 this morning when she decided that she didn't want to sleep anymore, because of her stuffy nose. Unfortunately, this means whatever cute thing I was planning to say about this picture has been knocked out of my head by sleep dep. But look! She figured out how to color! Yay! Next up. Playdough!

She's eating less in general, but still a lot at dinner. Possibly because everyone is there with her and eating and she can be just like Mommy and Daddy. Possibly because after a whole day of running around and trying to convince me to give her something different for a snack that what is being offered, she's starving. I decided after the hives joined the other two symptoms of "Hey Mom! I have a food allergy!" that we should take dairy out her diet to see if that was the problem. Fortunately, it was, because wheat or corn would have been so much more of a pain, but the removing dairy is still hard. Walker forgot and fed her some of his buttered bread. I decided pizza would be okay if we just took the cheese off the top. Not so much. Anyway, I think that's part of her problem with food right now. She wants me to find the bunny crackers, or the cheese sticks. We are going to give it a go for 6 months and then try some cheese. If that's not a long enough break, then we get to wait a couple of years, at which point I will probably investigate fake cheeses because I don't think I can go that long without mac and cheese.
Oh! I forgot to mention the fork! She loves to eat with a fork. Sometimes she wants to try out all of her forks to see which one works best with her meal. Adorable.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

See that serious face? This is how she looks every time she swings. It's the only thing she wants to do from the moment she sees one, for about a half an hour. I'm pretending that pushing her on the swings is good upper body exercise.
In the last week she has:
Learned how to do the motions for The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Learned to high five
Said No, twice
Said Hi, a few more times then that, but still not regularly (The first time was to Stewie when we woke up in the morning and he was asking to get out of his crate)
Started doing the motions I do for some books, like moving her hand in circles over her belly when we read the page of "Tickle Tickle" where they scrub their bellies
Started leaning back and forth when she either wants me to sway her on my knee and sing "This is the way the Farmers ride" or I have mentioned farmers
Rubbing her belly when I ask if she's poopy and the answer is yes
Wiping her face with a cloth, or if she doesn't have one, pretending to do it
Feeding her baby while it sits on my lap
Moved from brushing only her hair with any brush she finds to also brushing mine, and trying to catch Stewie so she can brush his
Can open the door in the TV room, which has a door handle instead of a knob. She's working hard to figure out the knobs

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Now that I'm done with the stuff I was doing for the wedding (well, not the quilt I'm making them, I should really finish that) and caught up on the swaps I signed up for, I've been poking again at a couple of quilts I've been working on for me for a long long time.

These little drunkard's path blocks are for a quilt I designed in 1996 or 1997. Each little block is 2.5" and the quilt is supposed to be Queen sized. When I sat down to figure out how many blocks I needed in 2000, I discovered it was something ridiculous around 2000, or possibly 3000, I haven't looked recently. So of course, I decided to hand piece it. Partly because I didn't have my sewing machine with me, and partly because I am crazy. I'm also cutting a maximum of 8 of each piece (outside arch and inside wedge) from each fabric pair.

These blcoks, (and more on my Flickr) are for a quilt I'm making to commemorate a road trip I took 2000. We went around the US and parts of southern Canada, and I tried to get fabric from every state/province we went through. Because my boyfriend at the time refused to go out of his way for anything and we didn't have the internet everywhere to easily find fabric stores, most of what I bought were premade items, like a bandana for New Jersey. I have knit shirts and a free thong thrown off a float in New Orleans, so it wouldn't work to try to piece it. I decided to make these applique houses, and embroider the state name and some scenery on each block. It's a lot of fun, but I put off starting for so long, I'm no longer sure what state each fabric is supposed to be for. Tillie, who was on the road trip with me, said that is kind of in the spirit of our whole trip, so I may as well just randomly pick fabric that seems right when I'm not sure.
I still have to put wheels on the cars on New Jersey, but I keep forgetting to grab my black floss when I'm working on it.

Monday, September 14, 2009

When I woke up this morning I realized that the busy week I had thought I had was actually pretty empty. Especially since Moira has been falling asleep too early to make it worth it to try and go to the 11am play date I was hoping we could go to. I said something on Facebook about having nothing to do today.
Moira and I went to the grocery store and when we came home I discovered tiny pink spots all over her front and back from neck to crotch. So I called the Doctor and got an 11:30 appointment, and we hightailed it over there.
After our last round of shots, Moira suddenly developed a fear of bandaids and stickers. That is gone apparently, at least for stickers, and she has developed a more rational fear of anything the nurse or doctor might do to her, including having me take off her clothes in the exam room. So, the exam was fun, with the screaming because we were measuring her and then more screaming while I had to hold down head, legs and arms so the doctor could look in her ears.
Fortunately, the most likely culprit is a viral infection, which isn't contagious and should clear up in 7 to 10 days. The second most likely option is that she had an impressively severe reaction to the three sunflower seeds she had with mid morning snack. We get to monitor her temperature and look for itchyness, and wait.
Of course this makes me think of something that happened 13 years ago. My Mom called and told me that there was new research and scientists now think MS was caused by a virus a kid gets sometime in their first year that causes a rash, but no fever. I hung up the phone and before I could step away, it rang. Sarah called to tell me that her 1 year old had a strange rash, but no fever or itchyness and it was so weird. So of course I told her. That was maybe not the most comforting thing to say.
So, when Moira gets MS in 40 years, remember, you heard it here first.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Sometimes it takes me a while to catch on. Like a few years ago during the record heat wave when I realized on the last day that I should get in the pool in our backyard. That would have been a good idea.
Similarly, Moira has been very clingy lately, and also bringing me the sling and making me carry her baby in it. It suddenly occurred to me yesterday that maybe she would actually want to sit in the sling, so when we took Tillie to Greenlake, I took the Babyhawk and Moira happily rode in it for the first half an hour. I had to force her back into it so we could get back to the car in time to get lunch before we took Tillie to the bus station, but she calmed down eventually.

I kept that experience in mind and when Moira started getting cranky this morning, got us suited up and took a walk to the park, since Walker took my car to get it's oil changed today. Moira was so happy to be cuddling me there and back, and seemed like she might even fall asleep on the way home. I figured she was just extra cuddly though, since the idea of her falling asleep at 10:30 is ridiculous, but by 10:45 she was inconsolable, so we went off to bed. To make her week more difficult, we are trying her in her own bed on the floor, so I can get some time in bed where I'm not twisted into a pretzel. The first few days she did not want to lay down on her bed, but yesterday she suddenly decided it was okay, and will jump into her bed when I ask if it's nap time. I even found her leaning on it while playing with her toys yesterday.
I got a new phone, and while I remembered to use it to take pictures at the park today, I forgot to take into account the fact that the sun was directly behind where Moira was playing, so this is the only shot that turned out. She had a great time climbing up the stairs and then sliding down the slide all by herself. I'm glad we tried it because now I know that Big Finn Hill park really is walking distance for me, although coming home up the hill with the baby strapped on my front was a bit hard. Next time maybe we can take the stroller. It will be a long long time, if ever, that she'll be able to walk there by herself, since you have to cross Juanita Way on a curve, and there are no crosswalks, lights or even sidewalks between here and there.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Tickle Tickle by Helen Oxenbury
I don't mind this one so much. It's short, it's cute, and she's started doing the motions I was doing (pretending to wash her tummy, brush her hair) and giggling as she waits for the 'surprise' tickling at the end.

Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathman
Another one that's not so bad to read, because there's not many words. Plus, Moira is starting to make the surprised mouth when the wife realizes that all the animals are in her bedroom. Walker thinks it's highly unfair that the Armadillo is the only one without a stuffed version of itself (it has an Ernie doll instead).

The Pigeon Has Feelings, Too! by Mo Willems
I would kick Dad for having bought this one if Moira didn't like it so very much. I'm surprised she's that into it since it has such simple illustrations. I guess I should read the other books in the series to find out why he has such a bad relationship with the Bus Driver, or at least the one called The Pigeon Loves Things That Go since there's a bus on the cover. That probably explains it, right?

Where is My Teddy Bear? by Frida Bing
An exciting and suspenseful book. Moira's favorite page is the one with the duck on it. Fortunately, the flaps you lift to reveal the hidden toy are big and sturdy enough that Moira can't accidentally rip them.

My Nose, My Toes and Me! by Frida Bing
This is the sister book to the one above, and Moira greatly prefers it. She reliably points at all her body parts mentioned in the book, except her eyes, which are first. I think she's worried she'll accidentally poke her eyes. Which, given how hard she likes to jab my eyes, is a big possibility.

Opposites by Robert Crowther
Another new book from my Dad. When Moira noticed this one and we read it for the first time she thought it was the best thing in the world. In fact, I had to hide it on the counter eventually because she threw a temper tantrum everytime I finished the book and closed it. We read it 5 times in a row before I decided it was time to calm down. It's a pop up style book which is exciting and opposites is her favorite thing to read about, so I guess it was destined to be a favorite.

One Moose, Twenty Mice by Clare Beaton
There is a cat hiding on each page and Moira can find most of them, except for the pages where all you can see is the tail. And the page with the Moose on it, because apparently Moose are that exciting. I like this one a lot because all the pictures are made of felt and beads.

Petit Poney printed by Grund
I can't find this one, is in French and I found it at a thrift store. The book is pony shaped and has flaps to lift. She really seems to like anything we read in another language out of proportion with the actual interest of the book, so that may be most of the draw. You'll be happy to know that the little pony does eventually find someone to play with, although why a cow, a pig and a goat are hiding in a hay pile, I don't know.

How to Be a Cow by Shelly Meredith
This one I will kick Dad for buying. It rhymes, it's nonsensical, and it seems to be pushing some sort of strange pro conformity message (yay herd mentality!). The best part is when it ends and I hide it so Moira can't insist I read it again 5 seconds later.

Pajama time! by Sandra Boynton
I have such a love/hate relationship with Sandra Boynton. Some of her books, like Doggies or Moo Baa La La La are great, but for every one of her books I love, there's one like Pajama Time that I hate. This is the book version of a song she wrote. I've never heard the song,but I have to assume it's better with music then it is in text. Moira seems to like it best after the ugliest pajamas ever make an appearance, but sadly they don't show up for the big dance party scenes. The warthog must be to embarrassed.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Moira is too interesting for me to properly record now. I've given up on her baby book. I made it through the first year, and I figure that's good enough. It was my original goal, because I never thought I would get all the way through the two plus years the book is designed to cover.
A small list of things she has started doing recently.

She holds her hands out (or more recently, up by her ears) in the classic "I don't know!" pose when I ask her where something is.

She can say "Up!" It was "Bup!" at first, but it is sadly losing the b really quickly.

She requests our drinks by saying "Ein!" which I think is because we tend to say "That is my drink, this one is yours" when she asks, and she wants the "My drink."

She can climb onto everything and it's a short time before she manages to scale the baby gate.

We would take the baby gate down, but she refuses to crawl down the stairs now, and if we aren't there fast enough to hold her hand, she tries to do her silly stair climbing walk without holding onto anything and takes a big tumble.

She likes to help put things away, to the point where I'm kind of abusing it by asking her to put away whatever she's playing with that I don't want her to be holding.

Friday, September 4, 2009

I have like, 1/4 of a post written and saved so I can more properly ignore it, but I'm hoping that doing this again will remind me of how easy it is to actually post.
My great grandfather, Holger was a mason back in the day. I think he's the one second from the right in this picture, but it's too small for me to be able to tell entirely.
This is one of the houses he built in progress. When we were looking for a house last year, Walker fell in love with a brick house hand built by the owner. Not a single project was actually completed. My favorite feature was the light switch next to the sink that was not actually mounted in the wall, but instead surrounded by a protective tent of bricks. We didn't get it, thank goodness, but we tried. My aunt Bobbe is a contractor, so she came over to give us a bid, and after being horrified for awhile, she finally said, "Well, Holger would approve."
My Nana with her younger sister, Marilyn and her mother Oline outside their house. Again Holger did the brickwork. I think I remember my sister telling me that he would build one house at a time and they would live in it until it was sellable and then move to the next one. But I may have that confused with her sims.